Working in a restaurant is a blessing and a curse. It's excellent money to make and a great way to network, however, it's also a curse because we see the inside of what really goes down in the restaurant world.
Sometimes, we wish we didn't see certain things because it ruins going out for us forever.
"At Chipotle, the servers usually put more ingredients into the bowl version rather than the burrito version. However, you can ask for the wrap on the side when you order the bowl version for no extra cost. This way, you can make your own burrito with more ingredients for the same price." -burnswuff
"The molten cake that everyone seems to love is frozen. The paradise pie is frozen. If you complain that your food isn't hot enough, it just goes into the microwave. Oh, and people used to ask for the queso recipe all the time...it's delivered to the restaurant in a bag." -UnderD4Donut
"Panera is pretty much just as bad for you as McDonald's. People come in thinking they're eating healthy, but they're really not.
The Italian Combo used to have more than a thousand calories, but they took some stuff off so it's 980 now. A You Pick Two with Broccoli Cheddar, Frontega, and bread on the side is not significantly different from a McDouble with medium fries." -capgras_delusion
A Reddit worker said that having something like this makes it that much easier to cook for and serve someone with food allergies. It lets them know exactly what to avoid and how to cook for them without hurting them.
Reddit user Darth_Seaman says he worked at Taco Bell and the beans are kind of weird. They come dehydrated like "cocoa pebbles" and are placed in hot water to make them soft and bean-like. So, they're definitely not fresh or homemade.
"I worked at Subway until this afternoon. I will say that the food is surprisingly very fresh- we sliced all the vegetables other than olives and jalepenos on location, the bread was fresh-baked daily, the meat came in frozen bags but was otherwise not-nasty. Super clean, fresh place."
One Reddit user, missmaryalice, said that Applebee's steaks are definitely microwaved. She said that the cooks put them on the grill to get the grill marks and then they put them in the microwave to get them all the way through.
"I used to work for Chick-Fil-A back in high school. Practically everything but the waffle fries and maybe the chicken salad (someone else confirm this) were made in the store. We breaded the chicken, we assembled the cool wraps, and I would cut countless boxes of fresh lemons, squeeze them in a machine and add sugar every shift." -slimjd
CharlemagneInSweats said he wishes people would stop buying into the idea that Starbucks has a secret menu. They don't. There are no hidden drinks with crazy names. It just makes everyone's job harder when you try to order one of them.
"Former Domino's Employee here. Something that I didn't realize was that your delivery driver gets paid $3.15 an hour for all the time spent on the road. Please tip well. They do not get reimbursed for gas and are using their personal cars." -MechanicalBird
Most people online say that salad bars are 9-10x "old." People will take all the stuff from the day before and just put it in the fridge for the next day. Basically, salad bars are kind of nasty and rank. Don't do it.
"If you drop your food on the table at any restaurant w/out linens, do not eat that ish. Leave it be. Most restaurants wipe all the tables down with the same dirty rag all day, basically just pushing germs and ickiness around the restaurant from table to table." - creeper_of_internets
"Employees at Chuck E. Cheese use the same towels to clean the arcade games as they do tables. Also, the tubes that your children crawl in are usually only cleaned once a month, if that. Don't take your kids to Chuck E. Cheese."-geoffham
PoseidonsTrident said that if you go to Buffalo Wild Wings and the bar is open, not table service, you're getting all your food microwaved. And, the people in the kitchen touch it with their fingers to do a "heat test" to make sure it's warm.
"I work at a Papa John's and as you may know Papa John's brags about never frozen ingredients. Well, that's a big lie. Every time that we get a truck with food all the meats are frozen. The apple pie topping also comes frozen. The only things that don't come frozen are the dough and the vegetables." - KirchoffRegime
